ARI - NYSE

I'd like to remind everyone that today's call and webcast are being recorded. Please note that they are the property of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. and that any unauthorized broadcast in any form is strictly prohibited. Information about the audio replay of this call is available in our earnings press release. I'd also like to call your attention to the customary safe harbor disclosure in our press release regarding forward-looking statements. Today's conference call and webcast may include forward-looking statements and projections, and we ask that you refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements and projections. In addition, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP measures on this call, which management believes are relevant to assessing the company's financial performance. These measures are reconciled to the GAAP figures in our earnings presentation, which is available in the Stockholders section of our website. We do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements or projections unless required by law. To obtain copies of our latest SEC filings, please visit our website at www.apollocref.com or call us at (212) 515-3200. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to the company's Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Rothstein.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on the Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. I am joined today by Anastasia Mironova, our Chief Financial Officer; and Scott Weiner, Chief Investment Officer. This call comes at a pivotal moment for ARI. As previously announced, we completed the sale of the company's $9 billion loan portfolio to Athene on April 24. Following repayment of ARI's financing facilities, other indebtedness and transaction expenses, ARI's total assets now consist of approximately $1.3 billion of cash, along with 4 REO assets representing approximately $900 million in gross value. The sale delivered ARI stockholders a compelling premium to where the stock has traded in recent years, and we believe this outcome demonstrates our unwavering commitment to maximizing stockholder value. As previously indicated, ARI's management team, Board of Directors and other senior investment professionals at Apollo are in process of evaluating a range of commercial real estate-related strategies for ARI with the goal to deliver attractive, go-forward returns for stockholders. We have spent a significant amount of time since the announcement at the end of January, exploring different strategies and speaking with bankers and other industry experts. We anticipate having an update on the strategy exploration in the coming months. Shifting now to a brief update on the 4 remaining REO assets. As a reminder, 2 assets, the Brook, a multifamily asset in Brooklyn and the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. represent approximately 80% of the REO net equity value. At the Brook, the market rate residential component is approximately 80% leased and affordable units are approximately 70% leased, with 95% of units selected. Both components are expected to reach stabilization by this summer. We continue to monitor the market and think through the appropriate exit strategy, either pre- or post-stabilization while continuing efforts to add value to the Western parcel. With respect to the 2 hotels, the Mayflower had a strong first quarter, with net cash flow well ahead of budget, driven by margin improvements and higher occupancy. We see opportunity for continued improvement in year-over-year performance and subject to market conditions, we expect more clarity on exit strategy in the second half of the year. Turning to the Courtland Grand. First quarter performance was below budget due to broader market softness, though we expect business interruption insurance from the offline units and the benefit from the upcoming soccer World Cup over the summer to bring full year performance in line with our expectations. We are in active dialogue with several potential buyers regarding alternative uses as we think through potential exit strategies. Lastly, for the 2 remaining former hospital assets, which combined represent approximately $24 million of book value, we are actively engaged in rezoning efforts and in dialogue with local operating partners to determine optimal exit scenarios. Before I turn the call over to Anastasia, in anticipation of a question, I just want to provide an update on dividend policy going forward. Consistent with past practice, declaration of any dividends will remain subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, and we will announce the second quarter dividend a few weeks prior to the end of the quarter as per the customary schedule. As we disclosed at the time of the original announcement of the loan sale, ARI intends to continue paying a quarterly dividend as we assess strategic opportunities. We also previously indicated a target dividend resulting in approximately an 8% annualized dividend yield on book value per share of common stock. The goal and target remain intact. It is worth noting that given the cash balance held at ARI and the desire to invest that cash conservatively while evaluating strategic options, any dividends declared for future quarters likely will contain a significant return of capital component. With that, I will turn the call over to Anastasia to work through our first -- to walk through our first quarter financial results.

Thank you, Stuart. Good morning, everyone. For the first quarter of 2026, ARI reported net income available to common stockholders of $23 million or $0.16 per diluted share of common stock. Distributable earnings for the quarter were $31 million or $0.22 per diluted share. Net interest income for Q1 2026 was $36 million compared to $39 million in Q1 2025. Interest income from commercial mortgage loans increased modestly to $150 million from $144 million due primarily to loan portfolio growth of about $1.2 billion on amortized cost basis compared to March 31, 2025, outweighing the impact of lower average index rates. Interest expense increased to $114 million from $105 million, reflecting higher average secured debt balances associated with portfolio fundings compared to last year. Throughout the quarter, we opportunistically repurchased approximately 2.9 million shares of common stock at a weighted average purchase price of $10.52 per share. Following the quarter end, we repurchased an additional 3.9 million shares at a weighted average price of $10.72, bringing total repurchases year-to-date to approximately 6.8 million shares. This activity resulted in $0.07 of book value per share accretion year-to-date with $0.03 in Q1 and $0.04 in Q2 to date. In April, our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program, and we now have up to a total of $150 million available for the repurchase of common stock. Common equity book value per share was $12.01 at March 31 compared to $12.14 at the end of Q4 2025, with $0.10 of the decrease attributable to the impact of vesting and delivery of restricted stock units, the trend typically observed during the first quarter of the year. Pro forma book value per share at the closing of the portfolio sale without giving effect to real estate owned quarter-to-date activity and certain quarterly accruals is $12.15, reflecting reversal of general CECL allowance in excess of discounts and closing costs for the portfolio sale as well as accretion from the share repurchases, as referenced earlier. Turning now to the portfolio sales. I want to highlight a few key points from the transaction. In addition to repaying our secured borrowing facilities, we have fully repaid the outstanding balance of our Term Loan B and deposited funds to satisfy and discharge our senior secured notes, which will be redeemed at par on or about June 15. As Stuart indicated, our balance sheet is now predominantly represented with cash and net equity in our real estate owned assets. The only commercial mortgage loan currently remaining on our balance sheet is the loan secured by a hotel property in Chicago, which remains on nonaccrual status. The loan has an amortized cost basis of $42 million and an upcoming maturity in May, at which point we expect it to be repaid through the sale of the underlying property, the purchase agreement for which was executed during Q1 with hard money deposits received by the sponsor. With that, I will open the call for questions. Operator?

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Jade Rahmani with KBW.

Could you comment on the rationale to be buying back stock at this point in advance of the strategic review? It's reasonable to expect that capital could be needed to consummate an acquisition or some transaction. And so I'm just curious about your thoughts on that.

Yes. I think from our perspective, Jade, look, we obviously, in light of the sale and what's left in the portfolio, have significant confidence in where the book value per share is today. And as we think about using some amount of capital to buy back stock, I would say the amount that we're using to buy back stock is not material as we think about having any impact on our options to do something strategically with the remaining capital in the vehicle.

And then regarding the strategic review, just wondering if you could comment on asset classes or give any broad commentary as to how your thinking is evolving. I noticed that Blackstone is planning to IPO a data center REIT and wondering if that type of construction could be similar to something you might explore.

I'm not going to give any specific comments on asset types. I guess what I would say is a few clarifying comments. While the agreement we announced several months ago indicated we had until the end of this year to decide the strategic path we were headed in, I think it's safe to say I don't envision a scenario where we are sitting here until the end of the year and making a grand announcement. I think there will be meaningful progress made in the next few months and significant clarity provided the next time we are speaking to all of you, if not sooner. The other thing I would say is, as we think about strategic alternatives, our view fundamentally is we have created $12 a share of value in the ARI box. And anything we would think about doing strategically needs to be done with us having full confidence that what we are considering/pursuing will create more than the current book value per share for shareholders.

Our next question comes from Rick Shane with JPMorgan.

Look, it sounds like we'll have additional clarity within the next 3 months. And for now, you guys are sitting on a lot of cash. You talked about sort of doing something in the near term to invest that cash. How should we think about that? Is this -- are you -- how much flexibility do you have? Does it have to be, for example, CMBS given the mandate of the company? Can you invest in agency mortgage-backed securities and mitigate credit risk, but take on some duration risk? Is this just going to be a treasury portfolio? How do we think about the asset class and potentially the leverage that you would take given some of the facets of those different asset classes or loan types?

Rick, this is Anastasia. So maybe to start with the first part of your question, CMBS, agency securities, all of these are typically good REIT assets, CRE CLOs, maybe not good REIT assets, but there are structures which could allow us to invest in those if we wanted to. And other than that, we have a number -- more than a handful at this point of high-yielding deposit accounts, which are providing us a pretty attractive yield. So that's an option as well.

And is the REIT test based upon the average over the quarter? Or is it actually based simply on 6/30. So can you -- do you have flexibility intra-quarter and then can be in compliance at the very end of the quarter to meet your obligations?

Technically, the asset test is as of the quarter end. There is also an income test, which is on an annual basis.

Got it. Okay. And what about leverage on any of those different classes?

No leverage as we envision to date.

I mean, to be simple, like it's not about return, Rick. It's about making sure the cash is there if we go down any of the strategic paths we're considering. We don't want to put any of the capital at risk today for market movements that sometimes occur.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Jade Rahmani with KBW.

Just wanted to ask about the REO resolution paths and how that interacts with the strategic review because let's just say the strategic review did not come up with a definitive strategy in which you were confident that new company would trade above $12 a share and you decide to return the money. Would you look to bulk sale the REO portfolio or put that in a liquidating trust? Just wanted to get some color you might provide on that.

Yes, nothing set in stone today, Jade, but I think more likely the latter, which would be we'd want to give ourselves the time to make sure we maximize the value of each of the four REO assets, and that is probably more likely some form of liquidating trust as opposed to just a bulk sale, which might have some sort of discount attached to it.

And then if I could ask a follow-up just broadly about the macro picture with the 10-year today now at 4.4% and the mortgage REITs down 3% to 5% today, including ARI, which had an unsurprising quarter, in fact, a positive quarter. So what are your thoughts about the interest rate outlook and how that might complicate either the strategic review or equity return calculations in real estate?

Well, first of all, I think you just validated your own initial question on share repurchase for ARI, given what's going on in the market today. Look, I think it's something -- historically, we've not been -- spent a ton of time trying to predict interest rate markets and try to think about value through cycles vis-a-vis interest rates. But I do think, given the uncertainty in the market today, when we've created effectively a capital box that is mostly cash right now, I would say it just has implications as higher rates, inflation, potential impacts on employment, all factor into thinking about future strategies versus the value of what we've created for people and at some point, deciding we're better served to let others decide what they want to do with their capital in the future.

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call back over to Stuart Rothstein for any closing remarks.

Thank you, operator. And as always, myself, Anastasia, Hilary are around if people have follow-up questions after the call. Thank you.